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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.3 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 66 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by cab blends on 12/5/2020 & rated 90 points: Not blind. Tasted with the 2001 Montelena estate. (1988 views) | | | Tasted by Decanting Queen on 10/6/2020 & rated 90 points: Surprisingly youthful and needed several hours in the decanter to open up. Dark color and youthful aromas—you would never guess this was a nearly 20 year old wine. Plummy and well structured. It was very enjoyable but not the most complex wine. (3132 views) | | | Tasted by The Vines That Bind on 3/13/2018 & rated 88 points: Château Montelena Vertical: Lots of plum fruit, a little over extracted. Plush but dark palate. Classic but straightforward. 2004, ‘03, ‘02, and ‘01 are more or less indistinguishable on first impression, and each come across tightly wound on the palate. Starts to get a little more interesting at 2000. (3744 views) | | | Tasted by dalemosier on 7/31/2017 & rated 91 points: Nice nose and lingering taste. Very well balanced. Haven't had this an aged Montelena before. Don't know if it was better earlier, but I don'[t think it will get any better. (3281 views) | | | Tasted by Pinot1313 on 1/15/2017 & rated 90 points: The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is moderate sediment in the bottle. It smells like fig. Earthy, nice long finish. Lots of complex flavors (3647 views) | | | Tasted by CranBurgundy on 3/18/2016 & rated 92 points: Lovely old school nose of plum, black & red berries with vanilla pipe tobacco and light spice immediately after popping the cork. Maybe a hint of oak, and graphite like in a mechanical pencil, but nothing so strong that it becomes like wooden pencil shavings. Palate of dark pungent fruit and cocoa powder with a smooth as silk mouthfeel. The tannins are almost completely resolved but remind you late in the finish they're still hanging on, albeit with a very fine texture. Not as austere as a Cab-based Pauillac, not as powerful as a Napa fruit bomb either. It's a Goldilocks Cab - just right, and in a great spot now with at least a couple years of life ahead or more. (3759 views) | | | Tasted by Pvannie on 1/3/2016 & rated 86 points: a bit past its prime, velvety (3588 views) | | | Tasted by cos82 on 5/24/2015 & rated 91 points: Purple plum in color. Nice nose of plum, cherry and earth. Loads of black and red fruits on a refined palate balanced with lead pencil, minerals and earth. No tannin and ready to go. I didn't realize this was the non-estate bottling until just now. Really nice finish and complexity. (3212 views) | | | Tasted by TwoSmoochies on 11/21/2014 & rated 91 points: Fabulous wine - not a lot of fruit but very well balanced. The time to drink is now (3447 views) | | | Tasted by GrantGieseler on 9/2/2014 & rated 91 points: Wonderful wine. Needed 20-30 min in the decanter. Opened up perfectly. (3232 views) | | | Tasted by wehouck on 6/8/2014 & rated 89 points: Deep ruby red with slight brown meniscus. Nose is over-ripe dark cherries, dried plums and blackberries. Hint of oak remains. Smooth over the palate, but expected more body - a bit thin. Tannins are light. Moderate finish, mainly dried fruit. (2861 views) | | | Tasted by roasted hill on 3/1/2014: Popped and poured. Garnet. Moderate legs. Dark berry and black plum, and leather in the nose. Black fruit, but not too forward. Moderate finish with olive hints and resolved tannin. Excellent with lamb ragout. (2984 views) | | | Tasted by davidspieker on 8/11/2013 & rated 88 points: Consistent notes from last tasting. Lacks richness and character. (3655 views) | | | Tasted by davidspieker on 4/5/2013 & rated 88 points: Garnet color and minimal aroma. Bright cherry fruit with good acidity. Lengthy finish that turns a bit dry. A little disjointed and better with food. (3379 views) | | | Tasted by DoubleMagnum on 11/18/2012 & rated 87 points: Somewhat pedestrian and unexciting. Wouldn't buy it again, especially at $35. (3706 views) | | | Tasted by kenv on 9/15/2011 & rated 87 points: WCC 2001 California Cabernet Blind (Provence Restaurant, Albany, NY): [Decanted for 6 hours.] Ripe tart black and red fruit. Tasty with nice spice and medium body, but clearly not in the same leagues as most of the other wines here this evening. Lacks the depth and richness of the others. 87 points.
Day 3: Fairly thin and tart now. Pleasant, no more. Drink up! 85 points. (5909 views) | | | Tasted by acheng on 4/11/2011 & rated 90 points: Sweet blackcurrant and blackberry. Good use of oak. Fine acidity. A very decent Napa. (5414 views) | | | Tasted by Cjcaldwell on 3/26/2011 & rated 90 points: Drank along side with some other Napa Valley Cabs. Knowing the history of this Chateau i shared the knowledge along with friends which made this wine just a tad bit better. On the nose I got a ton of plum and blackberries. Lots of sediment due to not decanting it. Had a lovely finish as well as structure. Nothing was over powering in this wine. It might be at its peak now but may suggest a few more years of life. (5085 views) | | | Tasted by TheEngineer on 1/1/2011 & rated 90 points: 2001 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate Napa Valley.
Definitely a bigger wine so the vintage difference shows big. Deep purple color, nice nose of of dark berries. On palate, much denser, fuller fruit, fuller bodied but still a decent balance. Longer finish but still not tremendous. I enjoyed both. $125. (5119 views) | | | Tasted by cab blends on 4/24/2010 & rated 88 points: Blind home wine tasting: A hint of brown on the dark red berry color. Definite berry, fruity aroma and cassis that makes this a classic cab. A little light bodied with a medium length finish. (5766 views) | | | Tasted by bdufton on 12/29/2009 & rated 85 points: I really like this estate and had enjoyed this vintage a few years ago. It's one of my favorite affordable Napa cabs. However, this bottle started out quite flat and flabby without any spine and definite stewed fruit dominant flavors. Time in the glass did lead to improvement but all in all it was a little disappointing. (5984 views) | | | Tasted by Schiffy on 11/12/2009 & rated 87 points: A bit disappointing. While the wine showed some complexity, there was virtually no finish. Seemed as if the fruit had evaporated. (5803 views) | | | Tasted by fultonjf on 8/31/2009 & rated 91 points: Very good wine and drinking well right now. Surprisingly food friendly for a Napa Cab. (6063 views) | | | Tasted by davidandrose on 8/22/2009 & rated 88 points: Pop and pour, and subsequently decanted. Struck me as a little one-dimensional, some off-green notes on the palate. (5885 views) | | | Tasted by cab blends on 6/19/2009 & rated 92 points: Drank straight from the bottle so no breathing (will let some breathe for tomorrow and retaste). I liked this. Good solid tannins and oak with light chocolate and a hint of berry. Classic California Cab. Starts off extremely well as a 95 pointer and finishes more like a 90 pointer - so a finish that is not as long as I would have liked. Clearly I cannot understand the Wine Spectator rating of <70. I can only imagine it is a typo in their database. (6182 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Chateau Montelena Producer website
Very DETAILED history of the property
From winery:
What’s not to like about the weather in 2018? The late spring rains in March and April were very productive and the vines responded with plentiful growth into summer. Unusually low nighttime temperatures coupled with warm to hot days magnified the acidity in the fruit, creating elegant structure for extending aging, rather than overtly jammy flavor. Harvest was slow and methodical as subtle variations in soil and sun exposure magnified the typically nuanced differences in ripening and maturation.
NOSE PALATE FINISH
Fresh and lively, the wine opens effusively with raspberry, mint and plum sauce. The baking spices soon follow, leaning clove initially but with plenty of cedar and vanilla. Still subtle, the ripe fruit elements, mostly cassis and fig at this stage, lurk beneath the surface along with beautiful hints of graphite and toasted sage, awaiting additional time in glass.
HARVEST DATES
September 20 – October 25
ALCOHOL
14.2%
BLEND
98% Cabernet Sauvignon 1.5% Petit Verdot 0.5% Cabernet Franc
Still very tightly wound, it’s the texture and mouthfeel that drive the palate initially. The tannins in particular are somewhat coarse but not so angular to overshadow the abundant dark fruit. The dynamic tension on the midpalate serves to focus and magnify the layers of black cherry, cocoa powder, and black pepper, before turning slightly earthy and dusty. The structure is pronounced, but still harmonious and well defined.
Technical Information
BARREL AGING
22 months in 100% French oak, 40% new
BOTTLING DATE
August 2020
It’s in the transition to the finish that the acidity materializes in almost candy-like fashion, a beautiful contrast to the supple tannins. Here the wine’s density shines elegantly, well balanced between smoky, espresso bean and delicate, dried blackberry. It’s the latter that defines the finish at this moment, persistent in length and depth.
WINEMAKER
Matt Crafton
Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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